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warfarinfo.com > |
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AN EDITORIAL ABOUT THE LACK OF CONCERN OF NUTRACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS FOR HERB-DRUG INTERACTIONS |
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| There are some very potent
and dangerous interactions between natural (nutraceutical) products and
warfarin. I have consulted in a potential legal action where a woman
lost her sight in one eye from the combination of St. John's Wort and
warfarin. I have seen several people who were taking mixtures that
contained over 50 so-called natural ingredients. Because these are
not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States,
the manufacturers are not required to do any testing or issue any warnings
about their products. However, these are sold as products that are
available out of concerns for the public health.
Coon et al (Arch Intern Med 2003;163:1371) report on a survey of manufacturers of these products to determine what, if any, research is being done one the subject. Surveys were sent to 44 companies. Only 15 (about 1/3) of the companies responded with a completed survey. Only 10 companies responded that drug-herb interactions were an important issue. Only 3 of the companies had done any studies. Only 2 of the companies regularly allocated money for studies of these potentially harmful interactions. Remember that this is money that they got from the public that were convinced to use their products to improve their health. Does it cause you to wonder why only about 1 in 22 companies is interested in spending money on research? The authors conclude, "These findings suggest that there is a widespread lack of interest in herb-drug interactions within the pharmaceutical and herbal industries and highlight the lack of research currently being undertaken. Knowing that millions of patients take herbal and conventional medicine concomitantly, often without knowledge of their physicians, and considering our present lack of understanding of herb-drug interactions, more systematic research into this area seems a matter of urgency." Perhaps the reason that they are not wasting their money on research is that they know that their products are unlikely to cause harm because there is really no herbal product in them. Miller LG. (Herbal medicinals: selected clinical considerations focusing on known or potential drug-herb interactions. Arch Intern Med 1998; 158: 2200-9.) reported that 75% of the purchased ginseng products that they tested actually contained no ginseng at all. That said, I would like to point out a website for a company that is doing research, promoting the exchange of information, uses good manufacturing practices and has separated their information website from their marketing department. Mannatech has a group of dedicated professionals who subscribe to the Health on the Net (HON) code of ethics for truthfulness in their presentations. I met these people in December 2003 when they made a presentation Mednet 2003 (Internet in Health) conference in Geneva, Switzerland. To see this excellent website please click on www.glycoscience.com SEE A CATALOG OF PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FROM LODWICK CREATIONS, LLC. LEARN HOW YOU CAN BECOME LISTED ON THE HONOR ROLL OF SUPPORTERS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFITS REQUEST A MEDICATION CONSULTATION
© 2003 Lodwick Creations, LLC Home Back to interactions list Contact Mr. Lodwick at allodwick@earthlink.net Last updated December 12, 2003
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